A non-literal translation by Craig Martelle of S. Romadin's research Armored Train #10 - Roza Luxembourg. Line drawing - Armored Train #87 Today, there are no armored trains in any of the world's armies. Maybe, then the attention paid to their special role in history would be lessened. The years of the Russian Civil War became a period of the Armored Train boom. Armored Trains hold a unique place in history as a piece of the military art. The Red Army is thankful for this workhorse of military technology, which many credit for their victory in battles over the counter-revolutionaries and the Interventionists. In the fall of 1919, a period of experimentation came for the young Soviet Republic. The Red Army fought the White Guard and Interventionists simultaneously on all fronts. Under these conditions, the forces of Yudenich, trying to take revenge for former losses, preferred a second attack on Petrograd. In the cradle of the revolution, serious danger lurked... In October, units of the Red Army were forced to leave Gatchina. The Izhorsk Armored Train No. 44 called Volodarskiy abandoned this last city. During the trip to the station at Taitsa, a camouflaged enemy battery opened direct fire on the train. The White Guard were trying for the complete destruction of No. 44 Yudenich in order to guarantee an award of 10,000 gold rubles! And there is more here than meets the eye - the Volodarskiy Armored Train crew was lead by the experienced combat commander V.M. Evdokimov who had already smashed better White Guard units. For example, in July of 1919, supported by fire from soldiers of the 6'1, Rifle Division, the Train attacked the strong point at Kopor'e, undertaking an artillery duel with the armored train "General Kornilov" and the Volodarskiy caused tile Kornilov significant damage. After that, in the region of the station at Karamyshevo, they encountered their first tanks and tile Volodarskiy Armored Train crew was victorious. But at that time, the dangerous situation made things complicated for the 44 Evdokimov quickly oriented to the situation and made a risky decision: turn to the rear and fight through to the Warsaw road. They traveled at maximum speed to Gatchina, but a standing, camouflaged armored train opened fire on the Volodarskiy. Red Army soldiers opened fire with all rifles and machineguns available to them and they almost passed through the danger zone when a single shell penetrated the steam engine and almost rendered the train without hope. However the Volodarskiy crew did not give up and opened up with a new salvo. The iron fortress on wheels, now immobile, continued to strike at the enemy... More Armored Trains of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War Introduction Armored Guard of the Revolution Armored Train Configurations (in silouette) Armored Train Configurations (technical drawings) Back to MWAN #110 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2001 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com